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Level 1
March 19, 2026
Question

This is my first time reporting rental income for an ADU - garage converted. How do I add the asset and calculate the depreciation?

  • March 19, 2026
  • 1 reply
  • 231 views
Under the Asset tab, it asks if this is was my principal residence and I check no. Then it asks how did I acquire it which I had already owned the garage I'm just changing it's use. It then asks for things that will be needed like cost and value of the land and I click continue but it stops there. Please help. Thanks in advance.

1 reply

Level 15
March 19, 2026

As far as how you acquired it is concerned, you would say you purchased it, assuming you had done that originally. It would be considered your principal residence, assuming the garage is attached to the house you live in. The cost would be what you paid for the house multiplied by a fraction based on how big the garage is compared to the house. The the land value you may need to estimate based on what you can discern from your property tax bill.

 

On the screen that says Do any of these situations apply to this Property? you need to check the "first year I rented", "I rent out part of my home", and "I converted this property from personal to rental use" options.

 

As an example, if you paid $200,000 for the house and the garage was 25% the size of the house, the cost of the garage you enter would be $200,000 times 25%. If the land cost $20,000 when you purchase the house then it would have been 10% of the cost, so you would take 10% of the cost of the garage and use that for the land value.

 

TurboTax will calculate the depreciation automatically based on the cost and date put into service entries you make.

 

 

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